


We Are Gotham

by TheSleepingKnight



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: 52 and Rebirth are being ignored, F/F, F/M, Gen, Gotham City - Freeform, Gotham University, M/M, Pre-Reboot, Social Media, save We Are Robin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:13:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24390376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSleepingKnight/pseuds/TheSleepingKnight
Summary: Gotham shows its love for its heroes.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 160
Collections: everybody loves dick





	We Are Gotham

_Once upon a time, there was a boy who fell. And since that day, he did nothing but catch others._

* * *

“So, do you mind telling us your name?”

“Uh- yeah. My name’s Nathan. Nathan North.”

“Tell us a little bit about yourself, Nathan.”

“Well, I’m a musician. I, uh. Attend Gotham University. Majoring in sound design...duh. I like going on walks— in the morning, not the evening, cause _duh,_ right?”

“You said it. Now...are you willing to tell us about your meeting with Gotham’s dashing boy in blue?”

“Well, I’m here, aren’t I? It— it was a bad night. Which, granted, happens a lot in this city, but it was a _really_ bad night. For me, personally. I’d just gone through a bad spell with my— with someone, and I was a mess. I _totally_ lost track of time, and before I knew it, it was sundown. And you— you’re not out on the streets after sundown, not where I live. Cause that’s when _they_ come out. So I freak, and I don’t run cause that draws em to you, like sharks smelling blood, but I’m walking as fast as I can.”

“And?”

“I wasn’t fast enough.”

* * *

> Thxrnprxnce: nightwing sighting tonight at Adam’s square! Check it out!
> 
> salt&pepperdine: oh my god I love him so much
> 
> kittykollector: how tf do you do that many flips. How is that humanly possible. I’d be barfing all the way down
> 
> Batgirl-is-my-wife: all of the bats are like that my dude. They can just do absolutely crazy stunts (once saw the second batgirl literally dodge bullets point blank and she didn’t so much as twitch beforehand) and they act like they’re all human, the fuckers. I’m not saying they’re not human but…
> 
> The-gay-ghost: look I’m telling you they’re all vampires I’ve been saying this for years
> 
> The-gayer-ghost: they’re definitely not vampires you neanderthal
> 
> The-gay-ghost: the fuck
> 
> BricksnBirbs: story time! I was being an idiot and trying to birdwatch at night ( _stupid_ move, I know, you should never be out at night in this city unless you live in the rich part of town) but I had been trying to get a good look at an owl nest (okay this is another post but the amount of owls in this city has been _nuts_ recently like is there a person who controls owls because this is insame) and what do you know, the street that my building is on fucking _explodes._ Apparently something was happening in the sewers below (my guess? Killer Croc) and anyway the whole block shakes and I was leaning on the ledge and I lost my footing, and I pitch forward and go over the edge. I...probably would have lived if I hadn’t landed on my head, but maybe not. Either way, I’m in the air for a solid second or two before bam, Nightwing _fucking catches me mid swing and gets me to safety._ We land on another street a few blocks away, and I’m crying so hard I can’t speak (sooo embarrassing, it had hardly been my first close call), and he just,,,, tells me that I’m safe now, and that he has to go but that if I need help there’s a trusted hotline for people who have been involved in villain attacks, and then—
> 
> Oh my god, people. His smile. It’s like a hug manifested on a face. This sounds sappy but it literally lit up the night sky, and then the madlad takes off, running faster than I’ve ever seen and then he jumps into a flip and then grapple hooks away and basically Nightwing is the freaking _best._ It’s why he’s _my_ personal hero.
> 
> Xsmiles69X: fake.

* * *

“...sorry, um. Wow, I guess I'm not as over this as I thought.”

“That’s perfectly normal, Nathan. Take your time.”

“Well, these...peopl— no. these monsters, they just. Crawl out of the freaking walls. One minute I’m alone, the next there’s like ten of them and I’m getting… getting dragged. Into an alleyway. And they’re all laughing and talking about how they’re gonna— gonna carve me up. For parts. To prove something. I don’t know. I don’t— it’s not important. Anyway, I try to fight but it just gets me hit. And then they just keep hitting me to soften me up, or something. And after a certain point I start like...dissociating. I know i’m gonna die, and my brain’s just trying to make it as painless as possible. And I— I can’t stop thinking about how my last— last conversation with anyone would- woulda b-been— so...painful. I w-wanted to go out on a good note, you know?”

“Nathan, don’t feel any need to—”

“No, it’s— it’s okay. Anyway… I think I’m gonna die, basically. And that’s when he showed up.”

* * *

**Harkthis** @Helena Harker: So we all know that Nightwing was the original robin, but did you know _how_ he became the original robin?

 **Harkthis** @Helena Harker: No, I don’t know his secret identity, but

 **Harkthis** @Helena Harker: But I have, after extensive research, talking to people who’ve heard conversations, tracking down posts (and even managing to glimpse at the rare few pictures/recordings that haven’t been striked from the internet) determined that Robin essentially _made_ himself Batman’s sidekick

 **Harkthis** @Helena Harker: like you don’t understand this little pint-sized kid told the big scary Batman that if he wouldn’t let him be his partner he was gonna go fight crime anyway and Batman was like “well, damn. You win. You’re my partner now.”

 **Harkthis** @Helena Harker: He threatened _his own life_ just so that he could be Robin. Because he wanted so badly to help people he didn’t care if he would be in danger. This boy was at least _thirtreen years old,_ and he was so determined to help people he put on a fucking leotard and punched gangsters in the face.

 **Harkthis** @Helena Harker: not to get sappy on main but. How can you not be in love with this man? How can you _not_ want to at least try being a better person, knowing that people like him exist? This _child_ has more moral backbone then I can dream of having, and now that he’s an adult, he’s only given more and more.

 **Harkthis** @Helena Harker: He’s what inspired me to become a journalist. To stand up for other people, to give them voices when they don’t have any. Because it’s the right thing to do.

 **Harkthis** @Helena Harker: Robin or Nightwing, he’ll always be my hero.

* * *

“It happened so _fast._ One minute I feel a knife scrapping against my teeth, the next it’s the gangsters who are screaming and crying, and then they’re all silent and it’s just me and him. And I’m a wreck, of course. And then he just stays away, and talks real soft. Tells me that he knows that I’m scared. And that it was— it was _okay_ to be scared. But he said that he was going to stay with me until he knew I was safe. And he _did._ He stayed, and just. Talked to me. I couldn’t tell you about what right now, but...soothing things. When I felt less antsy, he even held my hand and ran me through breathing exercises, patched me up so that when the ambulance came, they had an easier time getting me in. He would have ridden with me, but there was some kind of disaster going on and he had to go, but before he left, he told that— that it wasn’t my fault. That we all fall down, but— we can always get back up. And that’s.. That’s why Nightwing is my hero.”

* * *

**r/SuperStories**

Post by _GimmeAPulse:_

So, I owe Nightwing my doctorate. A few years ago, I was a drop out college student. Had no plans, no real friends, no future. And then I got hit with some J*ker gas. And I won’t go into details cause I don’t wanna trigger people but it was pretty fucking awful. I’ve always had a weak heart, too, so I was just aware enough to know that this was gonna kill me. I blacked out pretty fast.

I woke up to see Nightwing’s face. He had literally jump-started my heart with those metal stick thingies of his. No idea how the fuck that worked but I couldn’t care less. Gave me a warm smile and an antidote, and then helped me and the other affected people get to a hospital. And while I was in there, I couldn’t stop thinking about how Nightwing had taken the time to save _me_. Someone nobody would really miss. And I had this...epiphany. That there’s no one that no one would miss. It kind of slapped some sense into me, and I threw myself back into studying.

Eventually, I got my medical license, and now I work at Gotham Memorial, and I work specifically with people who’ve been affected by metas. I’ve even seen the bats a few times, but they’ve never stuck around long enough for me to thank them. But that’s okay. I think they already know how much I appreciate them.

So thanks, Nightwing. Thank you for reminding me that everyone’s worth saving.

* * *

_He just makes you feel better. Like you can be better._

_He looked me in the eye and told me that I’d be okay._

_Nightwing manages to make you believe you’ll last to see morning again._

_Nightwing stopped me from making the worst mistake of my life._

_I used to be a small-time villain. Nightwing chose to believe in me, and now I’ve got a steady job._

_Nightwing caught me before I could raise the gun._

_Nightwing caught me before I hit the water._

_Nightwing caught me when I jumped off of my roof._

_Nightwing caught me when I fell._

_He caught me._

_He caught me._

_He caught me._

_He caught me._

_He saved me._

* * *

You become Robin to save people. To catch them. Because it’s the right thing to do. I’ve been hurt. Lost people I loved. But that isn’t what makes Robin. It isn’t what made _me._ I’ve never let myself be defined by tragedy.


End file.
